Back to results
US 7,024,888 B2Granted
Method for changing glass compositions in melting installations, and corresponding melting installation
AssigneeSchott Glas
InventorsGuido Räke, Volker Ohmstede, Michael Leister, Sybill Nüttgens, Christoph Leuwer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The invention relates to a method for changing glass compositions in continuously operated melting installations which has a significantly shortened melt changeover time and therefore lower costs and in which the glass quality is not adversely affected.
Claims12
Method for changing glass compositions in continuously operated melting installations, comprising the following steps:
- a) a number of mobile melting-down units are made available which correspond to the number of glasses to be produced with the glass composition desired in each case, known as the target glasses, which melting-down units are provided with coupling devices so that they can be connected to and disconnected from the melting installation, the melting-down units, after use, still having glass residues comprising the target glass in question, which is available once again for the next melting process with the same or a similar target glass;
- b) the melting-down unit which has been selected in each case is used as part of the melting installation, the coupling devices of the melting-down unit being connected to those of the melting installation, in order to be able to carry out glass-melting operation and vessel-wall cooling, and a glass overflow is formed into a further processing system;
- c) the contents of the melting-down unit which has been fitted into the melting installation are locally preheated in order to create a region of sufficient glass conductivity, in which electrical energy can be introduced;
- d) the glass-melting operation with electrical energy being introduced is commenced with vessel-wall cooling taking place at the same time;
- e) the contents of the melting-down unit are supplemented by a batch having the composition of the target glass, and the glass-melting operation in accordance with step d) is continued in order to produce target glass and in order to feed this target glass to the further-processing system;
- t) after the further-processing system has been brought to operating temperature, glass residues which are of a different type than the target glass, if any such residues are present, are displaced on an ongoing basis in the further processing system by the target glass supplied, until the target glass is produced with a sufficiently pure, composition.
3 more elements
A melting installation,
- comprising:
- at least one melting-down unit;
- central coolant circuits;
- means for feeding the melting-down unit with glass constituents of the desired composition which are to be melted;
- and
- a further-processing system for treating the melted glass,
- wherein
- the central coolant circuits have stationary connection locations for the coolant feed and for the coolant return,
- a number of skull crucibles are provided as mobile melting-down units, these crucibles each having connection locations which are carried with them for coolant feed and coolant return, and wherein
- the stationary connection locations and the connection locations which are carried along belonging to one of the skull crucibles cooperate with one another to act as coupling devices, in order to complete the coolant circuit when the skull crucible is introduced into the melting installation.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.